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Sunday, January 8, 2017

Energy Department Veteran Saves Electricity One Light Switch at a Time

Lighting makes up nearly 10% of the energy costs in our homes. But how many of us actually flip off that switch when leaving the room? Probably not that many. It seems that leaving the lights on just isn’t that big of a deal, right?

Wrong. It is, and the energy we’re wasting adds up over time.

We were reminded of this at the Energy Department thanks to one of our veteran analyst Tien Nguyen. Tien recently retired from our Fuel Cell Technologies Office after 30 years of federal service. Most of you have never heard of him, or of his countless contributions to high-profile reports, like the Quadrennial Technology Review, that have helped fuel a clean energy revolution. His work has influenced new technologies that have created jobs and saved Americans millions of dollars.

Over his career, Tien has also saved you money…and energy.

Every night before heading home, Tien strolled through three floors of the Energy Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., in search of lights that were left on. Every light he saw on, he simply turned off.

Tien did this almost every work day for the last 16 years.

This simple task has made a big impact. During that time, Tien has saved an estimated 1,500 megawatt hours of electricity. That’s enough to power 150 U.S. homes for an entire year. In addition, he’s saved taxpayers $200,000 in energy costs.

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Environmental Valuation & Cost Benefit News covers legal, academic, and regulatory developments pertaining to the valuation of environmental amenities and disamenities, such as clean air, trees, parks, congestion, and noise. We apprise the reader about ways in which costs and benefits are measured, and the results of empirical studies. We hope that this information will allow public and private organizations to comprehend the risks and benefits of various actions, help disputants to resolve conflicts equitably and efficiently, and improve the quality of public policies.

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